Where does “tocsin” come from?

tocsin (Romanian) comes from French tocsin, from Old French toquesain, from Old Occitan tocasenh, from Old Occitan senh, from Vulgar Latin signum, from Latin signum, from Proto-Italic seknom, from Proto-Indo-European sek- — to cut, cut off, sever.

tocsin (Romanian): tocsin

Definitions

  1. tocsin

Ancestry of “tocsin”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchtocsinan alarm, a tocsin
2Old Frenchtoquesain
3Old Occitantocasenh
4Old Occitansenhbell
5Vulgar Latinsignum
6Latinsignumvisible indication: sign, mark, signal; seal,...
7Proto-Italicseknomsign
8Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sek-Every word from Proto-Italic seknomEvery word from Latin signum